Russell Brand made a £3,000 donation to a rape crisis charity in his hometown of Grays, Essex, one year after committing the rape for which he has now been jailed. The donation, made in late 2010 through his management team, was given to the South Essex Rape and Incest Crisis Centre (SERICC) to help fund its 25th anniversary party at Orsett Hall in December 2010.
Donation Followed 2009 Rape Conviction
On Monday, Brand, 51, was jailed for 10 years and six months at Southwark Crown Court after being found guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault. He was convicted of raping a woman at his then home in London in 2009, days after meeting her at the Hammersmith Apollo theatre where he had been performing a comedy show.
He was also found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman at a bar in London in 2004; sexually assaulting another woman at the Choice FM studios in London in either 2004 or 2005; and a sexual assault charge while working on a Channel 4 project in 2009.
Charity Had No Direct Contact
SERICC founder Sheila Coates confirmed to the BBC that the donation came from Brand's management, not from Brand himself. "He supported four or five local charities in the area he was from, but this is really about his abuse of power, the other part of the Russell Brand personality," she said.
Ms Coates added: "We were engaged in fundraising activity and wrote to lots of famous people and asked for a donation and he happened to be on the list. We were responded to by his management, not him, he wasn't in the country. We had no contact with him at all."
Brand was born and brought up in the area, attending Grays School, now known as the Hathaway Academy. In 2013, he opened the Thurrock Mind charity shop in Grays. In 2022, he campaigned to save the Thameside Theatre over concerns it would be sold off by cash-strapped Thurrock Council.
Police Assess New Information
The Metropolitan Police have said several people contacted them during the trial and following the conviction and sentencing "to provide information or report a potential criminal allegation." A Met spokesperson said: "Detectives are assessing this information as part of their ongoing enquiries."
Det Supt Andy Furphy, who led the Brand investigation, said officers were "looking at exactly what we've got" and "whether they're information that points to behaviour or whether they could constitute a criminal offence." Brand is already being investigated over rape allegations from two more women and has been interviewed under caution in connection to those allegations.
Ms Coates said she believed there would be "positives and negatives" after the high-profile case for other victims of sexual assault coming forward. She expressed concern about "victim blaming" since the outcome, adding: "I've heard things like 'it was a long time ago', 'why didn't she report it sooner?' That's all normal behaviour for victims for all sorts of logical psychological reasons. We still need to do some work around the myths and facts around sexual assault, all judges are supposed to do that, but I don't think all of them do, so we've got to make sure that happens so that justice is fair and victims are not blamed for their own assault."
